When I get home from a day of juggling work, family responsibilities, doctor appointments, and medication schedules, I don’t always have it in me to put together the kind of family dinner I grew up eating. Who wants to dirty that many pots and pans on a weeknight? I’ll admit it, I’m a shortcut cook....

True confession: I have lived in my apartment for five years, and I have never once washed the windows. In my defense, you wouldn’t know it — washing windows has gone the way of the horse and buggy. Now that roads are paved and gas-powered vehicles are subject to emissions testing, windows just don’t get dirty like they used to....

Kids are experts at distracting and derailing adults. How many excuses can a child come up with to avoid bedtime at all costs? All that childhood practice makes us experts at avoiding exercise as adults. I’ve written before about how important movement is to my own self-care. My swimming and stretching routines are essential to relieve tension around the inflamed nerves that feed from my spine into my skull,...

I was one of those kids who wanted to race through childhood. I chafed at obeying my parents’ decisions, and relished being mistaken for older than my age. In college, I breezily told people I couldn’t wait to be thirty, and when I actually did turn thirty, I got to brag that I was right all along: getting older was just as good as I thought it would be....

It’s no surprise that for some of us, it’s easier to go to the doctor for a sore throat or an achy back than it is for a suffering spirit. It can be hard to admit when we feel down, even to those we’re closest to, and something about a visit to the doctor’s office can make us feel extra shy....

For many of us, self-reliance is a badge of honor. As someone who lives with a chronic illness, I know it certainly is for me. I cling to my independence fiercely, often refusing to let my partner order dinner in when I’m too sick to cook or pushing myself to go to the office on days when my pain is debilitating....

Like many adults, I didn’t take much medication when I was younger. My use was limited to over-the-counter cold remedies and the odd antihistamine or pain reliever. I didn’t have to keep track of any daily medications, and I didn’t really use a pharmacy consistently — it seemed I moved apartments more often than I filled prescriptions....

About a year ago, I started working at Independence Blue Cross as a contractor, and in the beginning, I had ambitious goals. My planned daily routine was the picture of perfect health: smoothies every morning, Pinterest-ready mason jar salads, six bottles of water a day, and regular “brain breaks” during which I’d stretch my quads and hamstrings,...